The No. 13 Nebraska Huskers women’s tennis team (16-3, 5-0 Big Ten) welcomes Big Ten foes No. 19 Purdue (12-2, 4-1 Big Ten) and No. 32 Indiana (14-5, 3-2 Big Ten). The Huskers will face the Boilermakers on Friday, April 5 at 3 p.m. before hosting the Hoosiers on Sunday, April 7 at 11 a.m. This is the third meeting between Purdue and Nebraska with the series tied at 1-1 and it is the second match ever between Nebraska and Indiana with the Huskers leading the series 1-0.

Huskers In The ITA National Rankings

Nebraska is currently ranked 13th after dropping one spot in this week’s rankings. The ITA Division I women’s tennis rankings were released Tuesday, April 2 and Nebraska slid to the No. 13 spot in the nation this week.

Mary Weatherholt remains No. 13 in ITA singles following last weekend’s match against Penn State where she boosted her record to 16-1 (8-1 against ranked opponents) on the season, including victories against then-ranked No. 16 Ema Burgic of Baylor, No. 23 Brynn Boren of Tennessee, No. 58 Britney Sanders of Notre Dame, No. 41 Kelsey Dieters of Ohio State, No. 17 Petra Niedermayerova of Kansas State, No. 120 Melissa Kopinski of Illinois, and No. 55 Kate Turvy of Northwestern, and No. 57 Petra Januskova of Penn State. Her only loss to a ranked opponent came at the hands of No. 83 Malika Rose of Oklahoma State.

Mary Weatherholt and partner Patricia Veresova are in the ITA doubles rankings at No. 11. The two are 12-1 on the season, including four victories against ranked opponents over then-ranked No. 12 Brynn Boren and Kata Szekely of Tennesse, No. 31 Petra Niedermayerova and Karla Bonacic from Kansas State, No. 8 Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton of Northwestern, and No. 75 Petra Januskova and Chelsea Utting of Penn State.

The Huskers are the second-highest ranked team in the Big Ten behind No. 8 Michigan. Eight teams from the Big Ten are in the top 75 this week, with a total of four in the top 25. The other ranked Big Ten teams are No. 14 Northwestern, No. 19 Purdue, No. 32 Indiana, No. 33 Penn State, No. 52 Ohio State, and No. 54 Illinois.

Mary Weatherholt Earns Athlete of the Week Third Time

The Huskers senior from Prairie Village, Kan. won the Big Ten Women’s Tennis Athlete-of-the-Week honors on March 13 following her impressive undefeated record, including several victories over ranked opponents in both singles and doubles. This marks the third time that Weatherholt has earned the award this season thus far, after claiming the honors the week of Jan. 30 and Feb. 13.

Weatherholt Sets Career Singles Wins Record for Nebraska

Weatherholt, with her 16 singles victories thus far this season, has set the record for Career Singles wins at 109, previously held by Sandra Noetzel from 1996-2000. She set the record on Friday, Feb. 22 with a victory agaisnt UALR.

Weatherholt Sets Career Combined Wins Record

With an impressive record this spring season at 28-2 combined record (16-1 single, 12-1 doubles), Weatherholt has reached 184 combined victories become the winningest women’s tennis player in Huskers history, formerly held by former teammate Madeleine Geibert with 181 total career combined wins. This pushes Geibert down to No. 2 and Sandra Noetzel’s 172 down to No. 3, formerly at No. 2. With a good portion of the season remaining, Weatherholt will easily stretch this record even further with the remaining matches to be played.

Weinstein on the Record Hunt

Stefanie Weinstein has notched 36 combined victories this season which notches her at No. 4 on th Career Combined wins record board (with 171). She toppled Imke Reimers’ 164 on Friday, March 8 with her two victories against Illinois. Weinstein currently needs two more wins to overtake Sandra Noetzel’s 172 and only one more to match the former Husker.

Weinstein also has 19 individual doubles wins this season which bumps her to the No. 2 spot on the school’s Career Doubles Individual Wins list at 88. This pushes former No. 2 Imke Reimers’ 74 to third and former No. 3 Sandra Noetzel’s 71 to fourth, Weinstein’s former mark. Three more individual doubles wins would put her tied for first with former teammate Madeleine Geibert with 91. Four more victories would set the record and peak her at the top of the list.

Looking Ahead

Nebraska hits the road for a three-match stand away from home against Michigan, Michigan State, and Minnesota. The match against Michigan is set for April 13 at 11 a.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich., the match against Michigan State is scheduled for April 14 at noon in East Lansing, Mich., and the match against Minnesota is set for April 19 at 2 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn.

Purdue is currently 12-2 overall. The Boilermakers are coming off of a win against Michigan State resulting in a 5-2 score. Purdue currently are ranked No. 19 and have no players in the singles rankings and one duo ranked in doubles with No. 39 Krisztina Kapitany and Mara Schmidt. Last season Purdue went 18-7, 6-5 Big Ten. Purdue and Nebraska have met twice throughout history with the series tied at 1-1.

Indiana is currently 14-5 overall. The Hoosiers are coming off of a win against Michigan resulting in a 5-2 score. Indiana currently are ranked No. 32 and have two players in the singles rankings with No. 111 Leslie Hureau and No. 112 Katie Klyczek and one duo ranked in doubles with No. 61 Leslie Hureau and Sophie Garre. Last season Indiana went 16-11, 4-7 Big Ten. Indiana and Nebraska have met only once throughout history with the series led by Nebraska 1-0.